Moccasin type shoe



June 1964 R. G. MCCONNELL MOCCASIN TYPE SHOE Filed April 10, 1962 -END,

KNOT

arzemmus,

INVENTOR. j. 711 M.

FIG. 3

United States Patent 3 5, 0 MOCCASLN TYPE SHOE Roland G. McConnell, Portland, Maine, assignor to Sebago-Moc Company, Westbrook, Maine, a corporation of Maine Filed Apr. 10, 1962, Ser. No. 186,434 Claims. 7 (Cl. 36-11) This invention comprises anew and improved shoe of the moccasin type having a plug and vamp united by stitching and lacing in a novel manner that gives the shoe the full advantage and appearance of a hand sewn shoe.

In shoes of this type as heretofore constructed a point of serious weakness has been found in the laced construction uniting the rear portion of the plug to the sides of the vamp in determining the length and dimension of the foot opening of the shoe. This must be accurately determined for any well-fitting shoe for if not properly fixed it is either difiicult to put on the shoe or uncomfortable to keep it on the foot in wear. Moreover severe strain is concentrated upon the laced union in walking, with the result that it is likely to loosen or break long before other parts of the shoe show signs of wear.

I have discovered a laced construction of such character that it may be located easily with extreme accuracy in the shoe upper and that will maintain its integrity of union permanently unimpaired for the full life of the shoe while reinforcing the connection between the vamp and plug.

My improved construction, briefly described, is carried out by punching pairs of opposed holes in the plug, vamp and vamp-collar after the plug has been sewn into the vamp. These holes are located in exactly the proper position to determine the length of the foot opening in the upper. Then a single thread, cord or lacing, knotted inside the upper, is overcast more than once between certain of the pairs of holes and knotted to the traverse strands within the upper. A laced construction provided as above outlined has been found to obviate the disadvantages encountered in prior shoes of the moccasin type, to possess the advantages above pointed out and to be capable of formation conveniently without requiring specially skilled labor.

These and other characteristics of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred manner of carrying out as shown for purposes of illustration in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary view in perspective showing the laced portions of the upper,

FIG. 2 is a similar view of the same parts punched in preparation for the lacing, and

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view on a greatly enlarged scale of the laced connection.

The plug 10 is first correctly located by match marks (not shown) and sewn into the vamp 11 by a line of stitching 13 in the usual manner. To facilitate making this same, which we will call the vamp seam the meeting edges of the vamp and plug are beveled. The top edge of the vamp is provided with a collar or folded binding strip 12 secured to the portion of the vamp located to the rear of its point of connection by the seam 13 with the plug or tongue.

The next step is temporarily to flatten the vamp and plug and punch a series of holes arranged in opposite pairs and spaced longitudinally so as to span the end of the vamp seam 13. As herein shown the holes comprise the pair 14-15, 1617 and 18-19, the middle pair 1617 being substantially in line with the end of the seam 13. These holes may be punched at one operation and located with respect to a prick punch mark 20 previously accu rately placed in the plug. The hole 14 is located in the vamp forward of the collar 12 while the holes 16 and 18 pass through the collar 12 as well as the enclosed vamp. Having formed the holes 14-19 the lacing operation is begun by knotting a waxed strand of lacing thread or cord.

at 30 and passing the lacing up through the hole 14 leaving the knot within the upper but temporarily displaced from, the hole 14. The lacing is overcast at 31 to the hole 15 in the plug and then undercast at 32 back to the hole 14 in the vamp. It is then passed upwardly through the hole 14 and the two passes drawn tight so that the knot 30 now lies beneath the hole 14 but cannot pass through it.

The lacing is next passed rearwardly at 33 to the hole 16, then undercast at 34 across to the hole 17, then brought up and overcast at 35 across to the hole 16 down through which it is passed and undercast at 36 back to the hole 17. From the hole 17 the lacing is brought up and overcast at 37 to the hole 15, then undercast at 38 up through the hole 17 and then at 39 overcast back to the hole 19. It will be apparent that where the lacing is shown in full lines it is exposed above the surface of the plug or vamp but where it is shown in dotted lines it is passing beneath them.

The lacing is passed inwardly through the hole 19 and then undercast at 40 to the hole 18, brought up through the hole 18 and overcast at 41 back to the hole 19, then undercast at 42 back to the hole 18, overcast at 43 to the hole 19 and undercast at 44 back to the hole 18 for the third time. From the hole 18 the lacing is now passed at 45 to the hole 16. It is passed inwardly through this hole and knotted at 46 over the strands 34 and 36. It is then knotted at 47 around the strand 32, carried rearwardly at 48 and looped under the strands 34 and 36 inside the upper. Finally the end of the lacing at 49 is brought forwardly between the undercast strands of the lacing and the inner surface of the vamp and cut off after passing under the undercast strand 32.

This completes the hand laced connection which it will be seen includes two strands between the holes 14 and 15, three strands between the holes 16 and 17 and five strands between the holes 18 and 19 together with a knot at 46 about the transverse strands 34 and 36. The lacing is securely held between the knot 30 at one end and the knot 46 supplemented by the further knot 47 about the strand 32.

It will be apparent that the hand lacing reinforces and supplements the stitch line 13 in uniting the vamp and plug. It also covers to some extent the stitch line 13 and so becomes a salient feature in the appearance of the finished shoe.

Having thus disclosed my invention and described in detail an illustrative embodiment thereof 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A hand laced connection between the stitched vamp and plug forming the upper of a moccasin type shoe, the said vamp and plug having meeting edges and three pairs of opposed holes adjacent their meeting edges, spaced longitudinally and spanning the end of the vamp seam, and a single continuous lacing, said lacing being overcast stitching once between the foremost pair of holes, undercast stitching twice between the intermediate pair of holes, overcast stitching twice between the rearmost pair of holes, and knotted inside the upper.

2. A hand laced connection as defined in claim 1, further characterized in that the lacing passes twice between the foremost pair of holes, three times between the intermediate pair of holes, and five times between the rearmost pair of holes.

3. A shoe of the moccasin type having a vamp and plug with beveled meeting edges, a line of stitching, securing said edges together, a series of oppositely arranged pairs of holes located in the vamp and plug a short distance within their meeting edges, and a hand lacing passed between the holes of each pair and overlying the space be- Patente d June 2, 1964 0 tween the holes in the vamp and the plug and spanning said line of stitching, thereby reinforcing and supplementing the line of stitching which secures their beveled edges together.

4. A shoe of moccasin type as described in claim 3 further characterized in that a folded collar binds a portion of the top edge of the band and has holes for the hand lacing registering with the hole in the vamp.

5. A moccasin type shoe comprising a vamp and plug having meeting edges, a line of stitching uniting in part 10 said meeting edges, the said vamp and plug having a spaced series of opposed holes arranged within their mating edges and extending beyond the end of the stitching line, and a continuous lacing transversely overcast between each pair of opposed holes, enclosing the end por- 15 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 914,220 Armstrong Mar. 2, 1909 1,754,996 Gant Apr. 15, 1930 2,005,007 Sandler June 18, 1935 2,212,610 Lyness Aug. 27, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,138,978 France Feb. 4, 1957 

1. A HAND LACED CONNECTION BETWEEN THE STITCHED VAMP AND PLUG FORMING THE UPPER OF A MOCCASIN TYPE SHOE, THE SAID VAMP AND PLUG HAVING MEETING EDGES AND THREE PAIRS OF OPPOSED HOLES ADJACENT THEIR MEETING EDGES, SPACED LONGITUDINALLY AND SPANNING THE END OF THE VAMP SEAM, AND A SINGLE CONTINUOUS LACING, SAID LACING BEING OVERCAST STITCHING ONCE BETWEEN THE FOREMOST PAIR OF HOLES, UNDERCAST STITCHING TWICE BETWEEN THE INTERMEDIATE PAIR OF HOLES, OVERCAST STITCHING TWICE BETWEEN THE REARMOST PAIR OF HOLES, AND KNOTTED INSIDE THE UPPER. 